Micah 6

1 Hear, I pray you, what, Yahweh, is saying, —arise thou, maintain thy controversy before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice: —

Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.

2 Hear, ye mountains, the controversy of Yahweh, and ye lasting rocks, the foundations of the earth, —for, a controversy, hath Yahweh, with his people, and, with Israel, will he dispute.

Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel:

3 O my people! what have I done to thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? Testify thou against me!

‘My people, what have I done to you? Testify against Me how I have wearied you!

4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and, out of the house of slaves, I ransomed thee, —and I sent before thee, Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.

5 O my people! remember, I pray you, what Balak king of Moab, counseled, and what Balaam son of Beor, answered him, —from the Acacias as far as Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of Yahweh.

My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

6 Wherewith, shall I come before Yahweh? bow myself to God on high? Shall I come before him with ascending-sacrifice? with calves of a year old?

With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

7 Will Yahweh, be pleased, with thousands of rams? with myriads of torrents of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He hath told thee, O son of earth, what is good, —what then is, Yahweh, seeking of thee, but, to do justice, to delight in lovingkindness, and humbly to walk with thy God?

He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

9 The voice of Yahweh, to the city, crieth out, With safety for him who regardeth his name, —Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

The voice of the LORD calls out to the city (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name): “Heed the rod and the One who ordained it.

10 Even yet, are there, in the house of the lawless one, the treasures of lawlessness, —and the scant measure—accurst?

Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?

11 Shall I be pure with lawless balances? or with bag of deceitful weights?

Can I excuse dishonest scales or bags of false weights?

12 For, her rich men, are full of violence, and, her inhabitants, have spoken falsehood, —and, their tongue, is deceitful in their mouth.

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.

13 Moreover also, I, have made thee sick with smiting thee, —laying thee waste because of thy sins.

Therefore I am striking you severely, to ruin you because of your sins.

14 Thou, shalt eat—and not be satisfied, but be shrunk with hunger within thee, —Though thou remove, yet shalt thou not set in safety, and, what thou dost set in safety, to the sword, will I deliver.

You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword.

15 Thou, shalt sow, but shalt not reap, —thou, shalt tread the olive, but shalt not anoint thee with oil, also the grape, but shalt not drink the wine.

You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.

16 For strictly observed are the statutes of Omri, and every doing of the house of Ahab, and ye have walked in their counsels, —to the end I may give thee up to desolation, and her inhabitants to hissing, that, the reproach of peoples, ye may bear.

You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”